A BEAUTIFUL THIEF 



The mistletoe has green leaves, and 

 so is able to take carbon from the air, 

 and to manufacture sugars and starches. 

 But it sends its roots into the bark of 

 a tree, and draws its moisture and 

 nourishment from the cambium layer 

 and sapwood of its host. The seed of 

 the mistletoe is covered with a very 

 sticky pulp (used sometimes for making 

 birdlime) , which adheres to anything it 

 touches, and so is likely to find appro- 

 priate lodgment in the trunk of a tree. 

 Should it fall to the ground instead, its 

 days are numbered. 



